Vampire is a fairly typical Codies release. It's a platform game with heavy elements of exploration and treasure hunting. You play Brok the Brave. Brok is an intrepid space hero and has taken it upon himself to come to earth and rid us of the curse of the dreaded Dracula.

Dracula lives in a castle of 95 rooms, so there's a lot to see and do. You're not alone in this castle, though, there are all kinds of baddies inhabiting the place, from your standard undead night-creature to your patented Drill-o-matic killer tank.

To rid the world of Dracula you must use your rather odd jumping technique to traverse the maze of platforms and collect five keys. These open, uncannily enough, five locks. You then have to fix a generator, open six shutters and collect a hammer and stake. If you have any energy left after that lot, you must confront the evil of the Prince of Darkness himself.

The platform action is fun, although the jumping is a little quirky to say the least. The graphics are reasonable (a little too Spectrumesque for their own good) the sound is average and the task huge. Not bad, but very similar to other games in the genre and technically uninspiring.

Overall 71% Another platform-based arcade adventure, with lots to see and do.

Frank O' Connor